
Claire Tole-Moir
Head of Department
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Head of Department
Provenance:
Acquired by the current owner who worked for Peter Zinovieff (1933–2021) at Electronic Music Studios from 1970-1972. Zinovieff was co-founder of EMS and was instrumental in the development of the VCS3 Synthesizer.
Electronic Music Studios Ltd. (EMS) was formed in 1969 by Peter Zinovieff, Tristram Cary, and David Cockerell, partly to fund Zinovieff's experimental music studio. The VCS3 was nicknamed "The Putney" after the location of Zinovieff's London home and was their first commercial product. When contemporary alternatives from early synthesizer companies such as Moog and Buchla would take up entire walls, EMS provided a comparatively compact version of the electronic studio, hence the name 'Voltage Controlled Studio' (VCS).
The VCS3 was modular but made use of a 16x16 patch matrix which minimised the need for patch cables to connect separate modules. The synthesizer soon found its way on to the soundtracks of popular TV programmes like 'Doctor Who' and on numerous popular albums. The VCS3 was prominently featured on tracks by Pink Floyd (such as Dark Side of the Moon's 'On the Run'); The Who (the 'Won't Get Fooled Again' intro includes Lowrey organ processed through a VCS3); Roxy Music (where it was played by original member Brian Eno who went on to use it on his solo albums); Led Zeppelin (played by John Paul Jones on 'Four Sticks'); Hawkwind, King Crimson, Jean Michel Jarre, and Tangerine Dream, among others.